Yamaha's Chad Reed finds himself in the lead of the Amp'd Mobile AMA Supercross Series as the second half of the 2006 season gets underway at the RCA Dome in Indianapolis this weekend, but knows that he will need to keep checking over his shoulder for rivals Ricky Carmichael and James Stewart.
After running third in the series just a week-and-a-half ago, Reed is suddenly atop the standings after an unexpected series of events. Carmichael and Stewart both had a miserable night in the St Louis Supercross round on 18 February, with Carmichael crashing and breaking his Suzuki, and Stewart having a tough time restarting his Kawasaki after also falling. While 'Bubba' finished back in 17th and Carmichael retired, Reed took maximum advantage, winning and taking over the points lead.
Adding to that turn of events, Carmichael was docked a further 25 points after tests revealed that the fuel in his Suzuki to be out of compliance at the San Diego round. Although he subsequently won last weekend in Atlanta, the 25 points lost to the penalty dropped him to third in the standings. Reed's position was further strengthened when Stewart crashed again, this time on the first lap in Atlanta. Although he picked the Kawasaki off the dirt and charged back to third, more valuable points had been conceded in the process.
After the dust settled, Reed found himself holding a 19-point lead over Stewart, while Carmichael has a hill to climb if he is to come back and defend his title. However, RC's Atlanta victory shows that he won't back down from the challenge, despite being 31 points down to Reed.
Heading to the RCA Dome, Reed and Stewart are still looking for their first Supercross victories in Indianapolis. Reed was runner-up last year, while 2006 marks Stewart's first appearance in the city. He was slated to race in the Supercross Lites class - formerly called 125 Supercross - in Indy two years ago, but sat out the programme due to a concussion he suffered during practice.
While Reed holds the series lead, he realises that he still has to try to win every weekend to build on his momentum.
"I was a little too pumped from being out front early," the Aussie said of Saturday's race in Atlanta, "I wasn't prepared to throw it down in Atlanta and be aggressive to battle Ricky, but I came out with second place and, in the position I'm in right now, I'm happy with that. I enjoy the remaining tracks on the schedule and am looking forward to the rest of the season."
